Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Proposed Rules 83893 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Hazardous 

substances, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Michael S. Regan, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) proposes to amend title 

40, chapter I, of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) as follows: 

PART 63—NATIONAL EMISSION 

STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR 

POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE 

CATEGORIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 63 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart HH—National Emission 

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 

From Oil and Natural Gas Production 

Facilities 

■ 2. Section 63.760 is amended by 

adding paragraph (i) to read as follows: 

§ 63.760 Applicability and designation of 

affected source. 

* * * * * 

(i) Emissions standards in this subpart 

apply at all times. 

§ 63.761 [Amended] 

■ 3. Section 63.761 is amended by 

removing the definition ‘‘Affirmative 

defense’’. 

§ 63.762 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 4. Section 63.762 is removed and 

reserved. 

Subpart HHH—National Emission 

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 

From Natural Gas Transmission and 

Storage Facilities 

■ 5. Section 63.1270 is amended by 

adding paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 63.1270 Applicability and designation of 

affected source. 

* * * * * 

(g) Emissions standards in this 

subpart apply at all times. 

§ 63.1271 [Amended] 

■ 6. Section 63.1271 is amended by 

removing the definition ‘‘Affirmative 

defense’’. 

§ 63.1272 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 7. Section 63.1272 is removed and 

reserved. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26119 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[231121–0275; RTID 0648–XD495] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

Fishery; 2024–2027 Atlantic Deep-Sea 

Red Crab Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing 

specifications for the 2024 Atlantic 

deep-sea red crab fishery, including an 

annual catch limit and total allowable 

landings limit, and projecting quotas for 

the 2025–2027 Atlantic deep-sea red 

crab fishery. The proposed action is 

intended to establish the allowable 2024 

harvest levels, consistent with the 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery 

Management Plan. This action is 

necessary to establish allowable red crab 

harvest levels that will prevent 

overfishing. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before January 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0140, by the following 

method: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. 

1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, 

and enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2023–0140’’ 

in the Search box; 

2. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields; and 

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personally 

identifiable information (e.g., name, 

address, etc.), confidential business 

information, or otherwise sensitive 

information submitted voluntarily by 

the sender will be publicly accessible. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act Analysis, and other 

supporting documents for the 

specifications, are available from Dr. 

Catherine O’Keefe, Executive Director, 

New England Fishery Management 

Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, 

Newburyport, MA 01950 or at https:// 

www.nefmc.org/management-plans/redcrab. The specifications document is 

also accessible via the internet 

at:https:// 

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9122. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery 

is managed by the New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council). The 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) includes a 

specification process that requires the 

Council to recommend an acceptable 

biological catch (ABC), an annual catch 

limit (ACL), and total allowable 

landings (TAL) every four years. The 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) provides a 

recommendation to the Council for the 

ABC. The Council makes a 

recommendation to NMFS that cannot 

exceed the ABC recommendation made 

by the SSC. 

The FMP was implemented in 2002 

and was originally managed under a 

target total allowable catch (TAC) and 

days-at-sea (DAS) system that allocated 

DAS equally across the small fleet of 

limited access permitted vessels. 

Amendment 3 to the FMP removed a 

trip limit restriction, and replaced the 

target TAC and DAS allocation with a 

catch-limit structure consistent with the 

ACL and accountability measure 

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Under Amendment 3 (76 FR 60379; 

September 29, 2011), the 2011–2013 red 

crab specifications were set with an 

ABC equal to the long-term average 

landings of the directed red crab fishery 

(3.91 million pounds or 1,775 metric 

tons (mt)). These specifications were 

continued for fishing years 2014–2016 

(79 FR 24356; April 30, 2014) and 2017– 

2019 (82 FR 11322, February 22, 2017; 

83 FR 4849, February 2, 2018; 83 FR 

66161, December 26, 2018). 

Specifications were increased to 2,000 

mt for fishing years 2020 through 2023 

(85 FR 20615, April 14, 2020; 86 FR 

16077, March 26, 2021; 87 FR 3697, 

January 25, 2022; 88 FR 788, January 5, 

2023). 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
83894 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

Proposed Specifications 

The biological and management 

reference points currently in the FMP 

are used to determine whether 

overfishing is occurring or if the stock 

is overfished. There is insufficient 

information on the species to establish 

the maximum sustainable yield, 

optimum yield, or overfishing limit 

(OFL). The ABC is defined in terms of 

landings instead of total catch because 

there is insufficient information to 

estimate dead discards of red crab. 

The Council’s recommendation for 

the 2024–2027 red crab specifications is 

based on the results of the 2023 

management track assessment update 

for the red crab fishery and the 

recommendations of the Council’s SSC. 

The recommended specifications 

maintain status quo specifications of 

4.409 million lb (2,000 mt) from fishing 

years 2020 through 2023. While an OFL 

has not been determined for the stock, 

the Council and its SSC assert that the 

increased catch limit will not result in 

overfishing and adequately accounts for 

scientific uncertainty due to past 

performance of not exceeding past 

specifications. 

Recent landings, landings per unit of 

effort, port samples, discard 

information, and economic data suggest 

there has been no change in the size of 

the red crab stock since Amendment 3 

was implemented in 2011. On August 

10, 2023, the SSC recommended a 

2,000-mt ABC for fishing years 2024– 

2027 for the directed fishery. The 

Council approved the 2,000-mt ABC, 

ACL, and TAL on September 26, 2023. 

We are proposing the Councilrecommended specifications for fishing 

year 2024. By providing projected 

quotas for 2025–2027, we hope to assist 

fishery participants in planning ahead. 

At the end of each fishing year, we 

evaluate catch information and 

determine if the quota has been 

exceeded. If a quota is exceeded, the 

regulations at 50 CFR 648.262(b) require 

a pound-for-pound reduction in a 

subsequent fishing year, through 

notification consistent with the 

Administrative Procedure Act. We 

would publish a notice in the Federal 

Register of any revisions to the 

projected specifications if an overage 

occurs. We expect, based on the 

performance of the red crab fishery over 

time, that such adjustments would be 

unlikely. Current fishery projections 

indicate that no adjustment would be 

necessary for fishing year 2024. We will 

provide notice of the final 2025–2027 

quotas prior to the start of each 

respective fishing year. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

FMP, other provisions of the Act, and 

other applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This action is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation, 

Department of Commerce, certified to 

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The Council prepared an analysis of the 

potential economic impacts of this 

action, which is included in the 

Council’s document for this action (see 

ADDRESSES to obtain a copy of the 

supplemental information report) and 

supplemented by information contained 

in the preamble of this proposed rule. 

For Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

purposes only, NMFS has established a 

small business size standard for 

businesses, including their affiliates, 

whose primary industry is commercial 

fishing (see 50 CFR part 200). A 

business primarily engaged in 

commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) 

is classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates), and has 

combined annual receipts not in excess 

of $11 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide. The 

determination as to whether the entity 

is large or small is based on the average 

annual revenue for the three years from 

2020 through 2022. 

Due to the small size of the limited 

access red crab fleet (five permits, four 

active vessels) and its ownership, data 

regarding this fleet are considered 

confidential. However, when combined 

with all active red crab permits (limited 

access and open access), data are public 

and can be presented. This likely 

provides an overestimate on the scale 

and participation in the red crab fishery, 

given that the limited access permits 

comprise the vast majority of landings 

and, therefore, revenue. Under this rule 

and with these caveats, there are 

between 6 and 7 business entities and 

anywhere from 20 to 26 vessels to 

which the rule applies. Table 1 

summarizes the number of affiliate 

groups, number of permits, business 

size, average affiliate revenue, and 

aggregated affiliate revenue for the 

business entities described above. All 

entities have been determined to be 

small entities. 

TABLE 1—REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT AFFILIATE GROUPS OF ACTIVE * RED CRAB PERMITS FROM CALENDAR YEAR

2020–2022 

Year 

Number of 

affiliate 

groups 

Number of 

permits across 

all affiliate 

groups 

Small business 

in previous year 

(all affiliate 

groups)? * 

Average 

affiliate group 

revenue 

(nominal dollars) 

Aggregated 

affiliate group 

revenues 

(nominal dollars) 

2020 ............................................................. 7 26 Yes ....................... 1,939,248 13,574,737 

2021 ............................................................. 6 20 Yes ....................... 1,857,039 11,142,231 

2022 ............................................................. 7 21 Yes ....................... 2,582,741 18,079,184 

* Active permits include any vessel with a Federal red crab permit (PLAN RCB, CAT A, B or C) which reported landings of red crab in the Federal dealer database. All permits were included in this analysis to protect data confidentiality. 

Data sources: PERMIT, CAMS LAND and SSB’s RFA dataset, accessed Oct 2023. 

There is no reason to expect that 

small entities will be adversely affected 

by the proposed action. The proposed 

action will affect these business entities 

and vessels in the red crab fishery, but 

it is not expected to have any impact on 

the gross or average revenues for the 

fishery because it does not change the 

total allowable landings, which is 4.409 

million lb (2,000 mt). The proposed 

action is not expected to constrain 

landings markets for red crab 

substantially. Although total landings 

have increased recently, they remain at 

or below the total allowable landings 

limit, with market conditions driving 

landings more than this limit. Therefore, 

the proposed action is not expected to 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Proposed Rules 83895 

constrain landings or markets for red 

crab and is not expected to have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: November 28, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26482 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1